How To Find The Right Heating And Cooling Contractor

How To Find The Right Heating And Cooling Contractor For Your Home Or Business

As a wholesale supply house in the plumbing, heating and air conditioning industry we sell to contractors that specialize in heating and cooling. Therefore, we are aware of the many nuances and variations in the mechanicals that power your home or business. It's all about comfort. If you’re too cold, you need heat. If you’re too hot, you need cooling. Sounds simple, right? Well, given the many different types of systems that are manufactured and the changes that occur over the years in heating and cooling technology, it may not be as simple as it sounds.

The first thing to know is what type of heating and cooling system is installed in your home or business. Again, this sounds simple but the average homeowner (and some business property owners) don’t know the difference between a boiler and a furnace. A boiler moves water and a furnace moves air. Beyond that, you need to know (and almost everyone knows this) what fuel is used to power the system. Traditionally the fuels employed are oil, natural gas or propane. Another source is electricity but, to date, this is rare in Northern Climates - other than Canada where nuclear power provides inexpensive electricity as it is the prevalent fuel source. When selecting a contractor to service or replace your heating and cooling system it is wise to know the answer to these questions as heating and cooling contractors often have specific areas of expertise.

If you have a boiler, it will supply your heat but not your cooling. You may have a separate central Air Conditioning system that performs that duty, window AC units or the newer ductless split systems (aka mini splits). Since these are separate systems, they can be serviced by separate heating and cooling contractors that specialize in either. Larger HVAC contractors often do both and employ people with plumbing and heating expertise for your boiler and others that are trained in Air Conditioning. If you have a furnace you have ducting throughout your house that supplies hot or cool air as determined by your thermostat. Older homes (which are prevalent in the North East) often do not have the space required to conceal the duct work that delivers hot or cool air from your furnace. However, a lot of new construction employs, by design, a furnace with a forced air ducted system for heating and cooling.

The other issue to consider is the vintage of your heating and cooling system. If your furnace or boiler is more than 20 years old (and this is common) the newer units may require some retrofitting to replace an older system. Therefore, you would need a heating and cooling contractor that has enough history and experience in servicing and replacing older systems.

Other facts to know. Heat pumps (powered by electricity) are dominant in the South up to the Mid-Atlantic region of the east coast. The reason for this is historically heat pumps could not work in colder climates where temperatures could often be below freezing for much of the winter. However, there are new designs that are available now that allow heat pumps to work in these colder climates. If you are planning to be in your home for a long time, we would recommend looking at a heat pump design because they are very energy efficient, don’t use oil or gas and may be able to hybridize for cooling as well as heating.

In summary, to find the best heating and cooling contractor you need to know a little bit of detail about the current mechanical systems that power your home or business. From there you can ask all the standard questions you would ask of any heating and cooling contractor:

• Are they licensed and insured in your area?
  
• Do they know the local municipal codes?
• Will they handle all the permitting required, if any?
• Can they provide references for jobs done that are similar to your needs?
• Are they experienced with the mechanicals installed and/or the mechanicals to be installed?
• Do their technicians have factory training/certifications?
• Do they subcontract to other contractors for specialty applications?
• Do they embrace new heating and cooling technology? (If not, they still may be a fine contractor for you if current/proven technology puts you in your comfort zone as well).

An added benefit: if you have a plumber you trust and have used for heating and cooling repairs ASK THEM for a referral.

Understand the basics of your mechanicals and the Power for Comfort will be in your control.